Terson



(No Model.)

G. S. PATTERSON.

G01N OUNTROLLBD LOCK POR OPERA GLASS BOXES.

I atented Mar. 25, 1890.

INVENTORZ @faulen @Mmm falwm,

WITNESSES:

m @gm UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

CHARLES SAMUEL PATTERSON, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

COIvN-CONTROLLED LOCK FOR OPERA-GLASS BOXES.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 423,947, dated March 25, 1890.

Application filed June 5, 1889. Serial No. 313,140. (No model.) Patented in France February 19, 1889, No. 196,179.

To all whom, it may con/cern.-

Be it known that I, CHARLES SAMUEL PAT- TERSON, a subject of the Queen of Great Britain, residing in New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Coin- Oontrolled Locks for Opera-Glass Boxes, dac., of Which the following is a specification.

T his invention has been patented in France bys patent No. 196,179, dated February 19, 18 9.

This invention relates generally to coincontrolled or coin-actuated locks-that is to say, to locks or fastenings Which cannot be unlocked except by inserting a prescribed coin.

The invention relates especially to such locks as applied to the fastening of operaglasses in theaters to the backs of theaterchairs orto other suitable supports, the operaglass being usually and preferably inclosed in a box or case the lid of which is fastened in the closed position by means of the coincontrolled lock, so that upon the insertion of the prescribed coin and the operation of the lock the lid is released and the box is opened to permit the opera-glass to be taken out and used. The box remains open until it is closed by an attendant of the theater, Who relocks it by means of a special key. The inserted coins are retained Within the lock or in a separate receptacle and are taken out at stated intervals by ay cashier.

The means for renting opera-glasses thus described is not new With me. It is claimed in the application of James William Patterson, filed March 15, 1889, Serial No. 303,465.

My present invention constitutes an improvement upon the coinactuated lock shown in that application.

Another construction of coin-actuated lock is shown in my application for patent for coinlocked boxes led April 25, 1889, Serial No. 308,568. That application was designed more especially to protect certain improvements in the construction of boxes for holding operaglasses or other things and fastened by means of coin-controlled locks. In so far as the construction of lock shown therein is identical with or similar to that shown and claimed in my present application it is my intention that the claims of the latter shall be construed as generic claims.

Another construction of coin-controlled lock is shown in the patent of F. M. Leavitt, No. 023,200, dated May 14, 1889.

It is characteristic of all the coin-actuated locks hereinabove referred to that when the lock has been unlocked through the agency of a coin it remains unlocked until relocked by a special manipulation. This is in order that when applied, for instance, to opera-glass boxes the box cannot be closed and relocked by a person who contemplates purloining the opera-glass, in order thereby to conceal the absence of the glass, it being provided that the box can only be relocked by an attendant, Who -is provided with a special key for that purpose. Locks of this character then constitute a special class of coin-actuated or coincontrolled locks, and it is to this class that my invention more especially pertains.

In all the coin-actuated locks of this class heretofore devised the bolt or fastening has been operated either through the agency of the Weight of the coin, or, in the case of those locks in which it is operated by a positive thrust transmitted through the coin, the bolt, hook, or other fastening-piece has been acted upon by a spring tending to retract it, but restrained by a catch or tumbler, and the effect of the introduction of the coin has been to Withdraw this catch or tumbler and permit the spring' to take effect to retract the bolt or fastening-piece.

My present invention introduces a new mode of operation in locks of this class, the catch or tumbler being omitted and the coin being made to act directly upon the bolt or upon a sliding plate or other moving part fastened or connected to or otherwise communicating motion to the bolt. The bolt or part upon Which the bolt is mounted is passive or inert, being unacted upon by any spring or weight tending to move it to the unlocked position, and it is caused to remain in the unlocked position either by reason of being unprovided With any spring or equivalent force tending to displace it therefrom, so that it is held in such position by friction alone, or any other equivalent means may be provided for retaining it in the unlocked position until by the insertion of a suitable special key it is restored to the locked position.

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I am aware that coinfactuated locks have been devised wherein the power required to withdraw the bolt has been transmitted from a slide or other moving part through the me dium of the inserted coin to a moving part connected with and actuating the bolt; but in such cases the bolthas remained withdrawn only during the rtime that the manually-op erated part was held displaced, being returned to the locked position by a spring immediately upon the retraction of this manuallyoperated part and the escape of the coin from between it and the moving part connected to the bolt. Locks of this character do not remain unlocked and do not require to be restored to the locked position by a special key, and do not conform to the requirements of the class of locks to which my invention specially pertains.

I will now proceed to describe my invention in detail as applied to opera-glass boxes for theater-chairs.

Figure 1 of the accompanying drawings is a perspective vi ew of a theater-chai r provided with an opera-glass box constructed with my improved coin-controlled lock. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse section of the box and lock, the section being cut on the line 2 2 in Figs. 3 and l. Fig. 2 is a fragmentary scction in a slightly-different plane. Fig. 3 is a front elevation thereof, partly in vertical section, on the line 3 in Fig. 2. Fig. 4C is a horizontal section cut on the line 4 t in Figs. 2 and 3. Fig. 5 is a horizontal section cut on lower plane, as indicated by the line 5 5 in Figs. 2 and Fig. 6 is a plan View of the sliding plate or bolt removed. Fig. 7 is a vertical section showing a modiiication.

Referring to the drawings, let A designate a box which is fastened to the back of a theater-chair B in the manner shown in Fig. I. This box contains an opera-glass C, as shown in Fig. 2. The upper front portion of the box is open, being closed by a sliding cover or lid D. Then this lid is up, as shown in Fig. 3, so that it closes the opening, it is fastened in place by the coin-control1ed lock. Then it is released by withdrawing this lock, it drops down in grooves d a and becomes concealed in the lower front portion of the case. The opera-glass C may then be lifted out through the opening.

The box A is constructed with a back plate l) b, preferably of cast metal. This plate Z1 projects above the top of the box, and in its upper edge is formed an opening or slot c, which is just large enough to permit the prescribed coin (as, for example, a dime) by which the lock is to be operated to be dropped into it. A coin conduit or duct (l extends downward from the coin-slot c, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, being preferably curved, as shown in Fig. 3. The coin descends through this conduit until it strikes a horizontal sliding plate E. This plate is shown detached in Fig. G. Its front and rear edges c c slide freely in grooves e c in the box, so that the plate moves in a direction from right to left, or vice versa. The plate slides with a little friction, so that it is not moved by the striking of the coin against it. The plate E has a notch f formed in its rear side, into which the coin partly enters, resting in the position shown in full lines in Fig. 3, with the edge of the coin supported on one side against a shoulder f constituting one end of this notch, and the other side of the coin resting in contact with the end of a plunger y. The coin remains in this position until the auditor presses toward the left against a thumb piece or button F, which projects at the right of the lock and which is mounted on the neck or stem g of the plunger g, which neck or stem projects out through the side of the box. A coiled spring h is arranged in a hole bored in the plate b, and acts against a projecting arm or lug 7L on the front of the stem g', as shown in Fig. l, in order to keep the plunger g pressed toward the right and the button F pressed out. IV hen the auditor thus presses the button F, the movement of the plunger g pushes the coin toward the left, and by the contact of the coin with the edge f of the notch in the plate E it also pushes or slides this plate toward the left until theparts reach the position shown in dotted lines in Fig. 3. The plate E is formed with a catch or bolt L', projecting into a notch 7' in its front side. This bolt t' normally projects into an eye 7c, (or it may be a hook or shoulder merely,) formed in a hasp or projection 71'. on the upper edge of the door or lid D. The movement of the plate E to the left carries the bolt fi out of the eye 7c, and thereby releases the doorI), which immediately'drops down by its own weight, thereby opening the box A.

When the auditor releases the button F, the spring 7L presses the plunger g back. toward the right. The coin then immediately falls entirely through the notch f and drops down through a chute or conduit d, formed in the back plate l) of t-he box, and falls into a little box or pocket G underneath. This pocket G is in the form of a cup, which is pivoted to the bottom of the box A at l, and is fastened by a lock fm, so that it cannot be swung open until this lock unfastened by inserting akey. This pocket G will be opened by a moneycollector or cashier every few days, in order to take out the coins which may have accumulated in it.

Every opera-glass box in the theater that has been unlocked will remain open,because the plate E remains displaced to the left, so that even if the auditor should attempt to raise the door D he would be unable to lock it, and it would immediately drop open again. Consequently after each performance the employes of the theater can see at a glance what boxes have been opened, and can assure them selves that all lthe opera-glasses have been properlyreturned to place and that none have been carried away by the auditors. -An emL ploye will then. close and lock each of the IOO IIO

' other delicate part-s.

boxes. This he does by first raising the door D and then inserting a key (shown in dotted lines at H in Fig. 5) into a hole p in the lefthand side of the box, whereby he pushes t-he plate E back toward the right to its normal position, so that t-he bolt i again fastens thedoor D'.

The coin-conduit d is made with a lateral branch d2, into which the coin enters when it is pushed toward the left by the plunger g. The coin-conduit d is made curved, as shown, in order to prevent the lock being unfastened by inserting a wire or rod to move the plate E. If too small a coin' be inserted, it will drop immediately through the notch f, and the lock cannot be operated.

This improved coin-controlled lock is of very simple, cheap, and durable construction, having no springs (other than that for projecting the button F) and no balance-lever or It is certain in its operation and not apt to get out of order, since the work of withdrawing the bolt or fastening is performed by power derived from the hand of theperson who manipulates the box by the pressing in of the button F. The dropping in of the coin becomes thus simply a medium for the transmission of this power to the bolt. lf the button is pressed in when no coin is inserted, the lock is not affected. The novel principle of this invention might be realized by many different constructions. All that is essential is that a push-button or other movable piece shall be provided that is accessible from the exterior of the casing ofthe lock and adapted to be moved by hand, and that it shall be normally disconnected from and incapable by its movement of actuating the bolt or catch of the lock; but upon the insertion of a coin of the proper size its motion shall be communicated through said coin to the movable bolt or catch and shall shift the latter from the locked to the unlocked position. It is also essential that the bolt or catch shall be constructed to have no tendency of its own to move to the unlocked position, but that it shall be shifted there solely by the motion imparted to it from the manually-operated part, and that upon reaching the unlocked position it shall remain there, thereby leaving the lock unlocked until it is relocked by the insertion of a special key.

My improved lock is not limited in its application'to the locking of boxes or receptacles, but may be used for the locking or fastening of articles by a chain or hasp or other means. Fig. 7 shows its application for locking fast the end of a chain J, which may be used to fasten an opera-glass or any other ar.

ticle, whereby such article may be locked or fastened to the lock. The end of the chain is provided with a hasp k, in which is formed an eye 76', which, when the hasp is inserted into the lock, stands in line with the bolt i', so that upon the relooking of the lock by means of a key H the bolt enters this eye and holds the end of the chain fast until unlocked through the medium of a coin. The construc tion of the lock is precisely the same as in the previous figures, the only difference being in the omission or" the boX or receptacle A and its cover D.

In this specification I have described the projection t' on the plate E as constituting the bolt; but since the two are integral in the construction shown it may be considered either that the part t' constitutes the bolt and the plate E is amovable part carrying or otherwise connected to the bolt and formed with the shoulder f or that the entire plateE constitutes essentially the bolt, being formed withv a locking projection t'.

I claim as my invention the following-defined novel features or combinations, substantially as hereinbefore specified, namely:

1. The combination, with a casing, of a passive bolt or catch and coin-controlled mechanism for moving it to the unlocked position, whereby it remains unlocked until restored. to the lockedposition by a special manipulation.

2. The combination, with a casing, of a passive-bolt or catch and coin-controlled mechanism for moving it to the unlocked position, and the casing formed withakey-hole-for admitting the insertion of a key to engage the bolt and restore it to the locked position.

3. The combinatiomwith a casing, of apassive bolt, coiircontrolled mechanism for moving it to the unlocked position, and a special key for restoring it to the locked position.

4. The combination of a casing, a lockingbolt, a passive sliding plate movable'in guides in the casing and connected to said bolt, and coin-controlled mechanism for moving said plate to carry the bolt to the unlocked position.

In witness whereof l have hereunto signed my name in the presence of two subscribing witnesses.

1 CHARLES SAMUEL PATTERSON. Witnesses:

GEORGE H. FRAsER, JNO. E. GAvrN.

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